Search engine algorithms are being continually improved and honed to the point where much of what would serve as good advice on writing SEO-friendly copy a few years ago would not apply at all today. Here are the most current and effective ways to ensure that your online articles are fully effective from an SEO and readership perspective.

1. Don’t Stuff Your Keywords

It may seem difficult to believe that there once was a time when individuals were taught language in order to express their profound perspectives on society and existence rather than to appeal to search engine indexing algorithms and their perpetual motion bots. While the internet has moved into an evaluation of written content based on the percentage of keywords it contains, most readers have failed to rewire their brains to suit. People still prefer to read content that is above all “readable.” In chasing the holy grail of keyword density you might be tempted to write:

A 21.5% keyword density may seem to be desirable for SEO purposes but it is actually a chimera. Your audience will turn away in droves, and even the indexing algorithms will penalize it as “keyword stuffed.” As the search engine indexers become more refined by the day, the value of keyword stuffing is diminishing. Many experts now recommend a 2% keyword density, which is far more natural and readable to humans. Keeping your keyword density to 2% will ensure that your articles are both readable and comprehensible.

2. Avoid the Evil Article Spinner

An even greater violator of readability is the evil article spinner. This software process substitutes synonyms without taking into consideration that there are precious few words in the English language that can be software-substituted without eviscerating a sentence, producing gobbledygook such as:

There be a duet of corresponding prototypes for emphatically supreme activities standing on your savvy nourishment for your endemic website.

The most SEO-friendly copy is the one written by an educated and entertaining human author specifically to the topic at hand. Reading other authoritative and respected bloggers will give you insights as to the proper style and formats that satisfy audiences.

3. Dig Out Those Human-Deduced Synonyms

While article spinners supply an endless array of discordant pseudo-synonyms, a skilled writer with a trusty thesaurus can come up with a spectrum of relevant alternatives to use in their writing. Instead of repeating that something is good, try amazing, astonishing, astounding, awesome or any of the other synonyms easily found in your word processor, or on any of the leading thesaurus websites. The search engine algorithms utilize a process called latent semantic indexing, which will allow you to be considered for a greater breadth of search terms. You will also benefit from your readers considering you an accomplished wordsmith.

4. Embrace & Encompass Your Links

Many online writers shun links and delegate them to sidebars or listings in columns. Isolated links tend to be discounted by the search engine algorithms and create a cloistering that is disruptive to a reader. Incorporating a link directly within a sentence will make your overall article flow more naturally and you will derive the indexing benefits given to integrated linkage. Conventional wisdom states that the total number of links on any one page should not exceed 100, but there are many highly rated sites with several hundred links on their index pages. Thus it seems that the only effective rule to the number of links is that you use them in moderation and only when relevant.

5. List, List & List Some More

There seems to be an aspect of human psychology that is irrevocably attracted to lists. Some psychiatrists muse that it may be a way to readily categorize and thus comprehend otherwise ethereal or obfuscated facts in today’s oversaturated information environment. Whatever the actual reason, there is no disputing the reality that numbered lists generally solicit remarkably spontaneous organic backlinkage. Whether you’re listing the Top 7 Ways To Get More Neighbors At CityVille or the Top 10 Reasons To Wear Scan-Proof Underwear At The Airport, you can’t go wrong writing numbered lists… like this article!

Apply these five tips to your online marketing and content and you’ll definitely see the results on your analytics statements in very short order!